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**cpawfan** · 11-27-2006, 08:28 AM

DeVon Hardin is a 6 foot 11 inch Junior Center for Cal. He is still a raw athlete but he is long and quick. He should get plenty of open looks as the season goes on because of the defensive attention that Ryan Anderson is going to get.

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**RebelSun** · 11-27-2006, 10:12 AM

He's more athletic than I had thought; pretty quick for his size. He hasn't put up big numbers yet, but I don't think that'll keep any GMs from taking him mid-first.

**cpawfan** · 11-27-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RebelSun

He's more athletic than I had thought; pretty quick for his size. He hasn't put up big numbers yet, but I don't think that'll keep any GMs from taking him mid-first.

Even with the depth of the 2007 draft, you think he'd be a mid-first? I'm not convinced yet he could do that

TucsonClip · 11-27-2006, 02:01 PM

It would be in his best interests to stay in school for his senior season. Everyone wants to see how he plays without Powe and I think it will take him two years to fully develop into a center with post moves. I do think that he would be a late 1st rounder this season if he comes out.

**cpawfan** · 11-29-2006, 07:37 AM

DE has him on their stock neutral list

Quote:

Coming into the season, many were expecting big things from Cal’s super athletic big man DeVon Hardin. Based off what we’ve seen so far, though, they may have to wait for a little while before he really starts to come around.

No one will ever question Hardin’s natural physical tools. A legit 6-11, he has a frame reminiscent of Dwight Howard at the same age. His wingspan is imposing and his athleticism all you could ask for from a player his size. Hardin runs the floor extremely well when committed and is able to get off the ground with ease and challenge anyone that dares step inside the paint. Once he gets the ball inside the paint, he bounces off the floor in the blink of an eye to throw down some extremely impressive dunks. He’s a graceful athlete with difference-making potential thanks to his fantastic explosiveness.

The problem is, you’d expect him to do a lot more with all the tools he has at his disposal. From what we saw in Alaska, he is still very much a work in progress and probably wouldn’t be considered anything more than a marginal D-League player if he were to be drafted right now.

The main concern is the fact that he’s just not always very active, looking hesitant and tentative at best and lazy and uninspired at worst. He’s very robotic in his movements and is limited offensively to the point that he just doesn’t look for the basket at all. When he does, he often struggles with his decision making, particularly in terms of trying to do things that he’s just not capable of, as well as passing out of double teams, as his 1 to 4 assist to turnover ratio might indicate. He’s had no problem deferring to his much less heralded frontcourt mate Ryan Anderson, just a freshman, and it doesn’t look like that is going to change anytime soon from what we’ve seen early on. Against Marshall, he showed pretty poor hands and even missed some wide-open dunks, but against Hawaii he looked a little better when going to his left-handed jump-hook, even if that is his only real offensive move. He also showed flashes of a mid-range jumper on occasion, and did a phenomenal job knocking down his free throws thanks to his surprisingly soft touch. His best game of the tournament came in the finals against Loyola Marymount, where he got himself going with a couple of impressive dunks and really made an impact defensively with his shot-blocking ability, finishing the game with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Considering the level of competition he went up against, though, it’s difficult to get too excited when you take his entire tournament performance into consideration.

Defensively, Hardin can be very foul prone as he doesn’t quite know how to avoid contact when going up for a block, and has a tendency anyway to leave his feet on even the slightest of pump-fakes. As a rebounder, he doesn’t quite get after the glass the way you’d think a guy with his size and explosiveness would. More than anything he lacks the type of awareness and experience that only comes with time and plenty of playing time at a high level, and you have to wonder if people are jumping the boat with the kind of lofty expectations that are being put on his shoulders. With that said, its impossible not to notice the kind of potential he possesses as a 6-11 jumping jack with a monster frame and a seemingly good attitude. As long as he performs reasonably well in private workouts (which just happen to be tailor made to his strengths), he’ll probably end up being drafted somewhere in the first round regardless--although he’ll definitely be considered a long-term project.

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